DataTwin Key Topics Highlighted at UpToGATE 2025 Data Space Panel

The international forum UpToGATE 2025: New Horizons brought together leading experts to discuss the future of artificial intelligence, data, and digital innovation. A central part of the event was the panel “Data Spaces as Engines for Digital Transformation”, where several of the core themes addressed by the DataTwin project took center stage.

The discussion highlighted the increasing importance of interoperable, trusted, and sovereign data spaces - a foundation on which DataTwin is actively building through its research and capacity-building activities.

Expert contributions from the International Data Spaces Association (IDSA) and industry partners emphasized two core issues deeply aligned with the DataTwin mission:

• The need for common standards and governance models to ensure seamless interoperability across European data ecosystems;

• The importance of secure, sustainable digital infrastructures that support cross-sector data exchange and innovation.

Adding a global dimension, Prof. Noboru Koshizuka from the University of Tokyo presented Asia’s progress in creating interoperable data-sharing platforms - an outlook that reinforces the relevance of DataTwin’s international collaboration efforts.

From a local perspective, Sofia's Deputy Mayor for Digitalization, Ivan Goychev, outlined the city’s digital transformation strategy, while industry representative Deyan Georgiev stressed the critical role of secure communication infrastructures for operational data spaces.

The panel clearly demonstrated that data spaces have evolved from conceptual frameworks into functional digital infrastructure - a development that directly supports the goals of the DataTwin project. The insights from the UpToGATE forum will further guide the project’s work in strengthening interoperability, supporting policy alignment, and building advanced research capacity in Bulgaria as part of Europe’s common data space.